ACBSP Opens a European Office in Brussels

OVERLAND PARK, KS, USA (January 20, 2012) The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), www.acbsp.org, announces the opening of an office in Brussels, Belgium to better serve its growing membership in Europe.

Establishing the European office, located at Rue Abbé Cuypers, 3, 1040, Brussels, will address an ongoing commitment to member campuses outside the United States and significantly increase the global presence of ACBSP.

ACBSP has seen tremendous growth in its membership in recent years, much of which has been among campuses outside the United States. "In the early years, ACBSP membership was comprised almost exclusively of U.S.-based colleges and universities. Now, nearly 25 years later, our membership base from outside the U.S. consists of 2,095 individual members at 157 member campuses in 44 countries,” said Doug Viehland, executive director.

The Council has appointed Dr. Panos Kostakos of Athens, Greece as the new director of European Operations. "Our physical presence in Brussels will seek to strengthen and deepen the institutional affiliations and visibility of ACBSP and its members in Europe. We have already initiated contacts with government bodies and are pursuing cooperation with European organizations in the Higher Education, Education Management, Quality Assurance and Management Development sectors,” Kostakos said.

"We selected Brussels as our base for European operations because it is the location of many of the government bodies and organizations with which ACBSP has contact,” said Viehland. "Securing this office is the culmination of a two-year project begun by our Board of Directors and members of the International Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP Region 8) to expand our global reach to current and prospective colleges and universities outside the U.S.,” he said.

About ACBSP

ACBSP’s mission is to promote continuous improvement and recognize excellence in the accreditation of business education programs around the world. ACBSP is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as a specialized accreditation agency for business education. ACBSP currently has 1,100 member campuses, 157 of which are located outside of the U.S. Of those campuses, 541 have achieved accreditation and more than 415 are in candidacy for accreditation. Individual members on these campuses now exceed 9,500.

About Dr. Panos Kostakos, director of European Operations

Dr. Panos Kostakos, director of European Operations, joined ACBSP in November 2011, based in Brussels, Belgium. Kostakos was born in Athens, Greece and has lived for more than a decade in the UK and Belgium. He has a BA (Hons.) in International Relations and Politics from the University of the West of England, UK and a Ph.D in International Studies from the University of Bath, UK. He has published widely in areas relating to transnational organized crime, public policy and social networks and has taught Politics and International Relations at the University of Bath. He has worked closely with public authorities and NGO's in both sides of the Atlantic and has consulted for private and public sector organizations on issues of corruption, political stability, good practice and criminal associations. He is a regular commentator in the media on matters relating to political violence and criminal networks. Kostakos maintains an active role in the academic community through participation in a range of International fora and networks.